The 2003 Reunion
As always a reunion of shipmates from all cruises at the Merry Manor Inn in Portland, Maine from September 10 through September 14 was a memorable occasion.
Will Howes of the first cruise did a magnificent job of pulling together all the important and needed information for this reunion to become a reality. This is the first reunion that has been worked on by a large committee, on an accelerated schedule, and following the reunion guidelines. It worked out quite well. The shipmates that served on the committee were:
Mick Riedemann, Jack Neuzil, John MacClenahan, Travis Badgett, Joe Jarreau, David Dulaney, Tex Worden, Charlie Brock, Jim Harp, Bill Haack, Burl Troutman, Marv Aho, Ralph Schweinefuss, and Ed Lange. If I have left anyone out, I apologize.
Our reunions always have an emotional element resulting from getting reconnected with shipmates that have been lost to each other for many years. Shipmates that you lived with, worked with, experienced good and bad times with, and then lost track of. Always wishing for an opportunity to pick up your relationship where it was left off so many years ago. And then it happens at one of our reunions. There is your shipmate, walking toward you. An unbelievably emotional moment for two men many years older than they were when they were last together. Having witnessed this moment many times and experiencing it personally made attendance at this reunion worthwhile.
If you have some photos you are willing to share with your shipmates please Email them to me and I will load them onto our web site. Ed
THE TRIP TO PORTLAND, MAINE
| This map shows the relative location of the reunion hotel to the airport and the major highways leading to Portland, Maine. |
| If you traveled by car one of the roadside sights you might see is this waterfall all decked out in fall colors. | 
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| You may have also seen road signs that warn you of Moose Crossings. Fortunately, no one ran into one of these animals which represents a collision with a half-ton of meat on the hoof. |
| If you traveled along one of the coast roads you might have seen one of these coastal sentries. | 
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3D Dulaney announced our reunion from West Virginia to Maine with his unique advertisement. |
THE HOTEL AT PORTLAND, MAINE
| Our reunion hotel was a Best Western Hotel and was the first choice of Will Howes during his investigation. |
| The rooms were spacious, pleasant, and clean. | 
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| This room was used for the hospitality room, the business meeting room, and the banquet room. Each function was set up in a different configuration. |
THE ATTENDEES
Forty-seven shipmates and 35 spouses, and guests attended this reunion. Listed below, in cruise sequence are the names of shipmates that attended.
| Will Howes | Ed Lange |
| Tex Worden | Wendell Crews |
| E.O. Jones | Smiley McGrath |
| Herman Cyr | Bruce Van Hesteren |
| David Dulaney | Roy Duke |
| Charles Emrhein | Bill Young |
| Selmom Gatewood | Walter MacDonald |
| Heywood Baudoin | Ray Bolstridge |
| Ralph Schweinefuss | Jack Neuzil |
| Everett Hayslip | Charles Brock |
| Anderson Wright | Lyle Usgaard |
| Dave Ungerer |
| Joe Jarreau | Travis Badgett |
| Tom Lavin |
| Ken McCrum | Thor Anderson |
| John McClenahan | Tom Jetton |
| Clyde Carey | Burl Troutman |
| Marv Aho | Tommy Aaron |
| Chuck Stephan |
| Jack Bogart | Danny Donegan |
| Ray McKenna | Mick Riedemann |
| Ray Yettick | Jerry Bogart |
| Lane Morrison | Bill Pilesi |
| Bill Cusson | Barry Curtis |
| Robert Tierney |
THE REUNION PROGRAM
THE WEDNESDAY EVENING WELCOME PACKAGE ASSEMBLY
After dinner on Wednesday evening Joe Jarreau, Ralph Schweinefuss, 3D Dulaney, Charlie Brock, Tex Worden, Ed Lange, Smiley McGrath, and Will Howes assembled the Welcome Packages. Each bag had a packing slip attached that identified what should go into the bag and an assembly line was formed to stuff the bags.
The bags contained a Portland Guide and map, a Maine Guide and Map, A Maritime Museum Guide and map, Alligator Clips, Godiva Chocolates for the ladies, Note Pads and pens, Meal tickets, Door prize tickets, Name tags, coffee mug and cap (if ordered).
Thanks to all the volunteers the job was completed in a few hours and we had some fun getting organized and doing the job. It was a lot like loading ammunition.
Some people began arriving on Wed. 9/10. I went to the Visitors Center where we picked up what seemed like 80 lbs. of brochures. Checked in with no problems at about 2 PM. Some were already there to assist in filling the arrival bags. Wed. evening was spent in sorting, nameing and filling the "colorful" shopping bags supplied by Ed and Wanda Lange. Once our system sorted out, all went smoothly.
THURSDAY ACTIVITIES
Thursday,.9/11, was check in day and people trickled in all day. The Hospitality room was set up for our use and our makeshift system went into effect again. It wasn't too organized, but seemed to work okay. It's remarkable how many sea stories about the same thing can be so different. I guess we all remember things a little differently. One thing about checking people in, was I got to know more of the crews from different times rather than just plank owners or from the first two cruises. I did learn the same dedication was there from the first to the last. Some of the crew managed to go shopping, while others rested for the weekend.
| Early arrival attendees spent Thursday as they liked. Many of the ladies went shopping. some attendees went sightseeing, and others just visited the hospitality room and relived many memories of the years past. | 
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During the evening this group went to a (can you believe it) lobster restaurant. |
| This crew was hungry |  |
Shipmates checking out 3D Dulaney's automobile artwork.
FRIDAY ACTIVITIES
Friday morning was free time so there was some more shopping, sightseeing and hanging out in the hospitality room.
The afternoon was spent at the Bath Maritime Museum. This museum has both outdoor and indoor displays and covers many aspects of the maritime traditions of Maine.
Fri 9/12; More AM checking in. At noon the busses were loaded for the Maine Maritime Museum. The museum was a working shipyard in the 1800s through the early 1900's. Most of the out buildings were used in the construction of schooners, up to five masts.
The Zwiffer,a two masted schooner was tied to the pier and could be toured. The berthing space, the galley area, Captain's cabin and upper level crews cabin were all quite primitive, but probably nice in their day. Even had a Fairbanks-Morse diesel engine for propulsion. Looked like a huge clunker.
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Joe Jarreau remembering the many hours he spent behind the wheel of the "Tom". |
The other out buildings had displays and mockup showing how the yard actually worked. The lobster exhibit showed how lobsters were caught, measured and processed. A lot of work, for hopefully a days pay. The main building had many exhibits, displays, ship's logs, diaries, mockups and videos showing how it used to be. We departed the Museum at about 3 PM, as we had to get back to the hotel and almost immediately get ready for the trip for the lobster bake
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The bus ride revealed how much the little town of Bath has developed over the past 50 years. Truly amazing. |
| It was an honor to have four previous Captains of our ship join us at this reunion. | 
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One of the displays at the museum is a Lobster Boat. This is the kind of boat the Maine Lobster men used for many years to catch the delicious lobsters we ate during this reunion.
Many displays of the Maine maritime tradition were viewed during the self directed tour. This photo shows just one part of the many interesting exhibits the Maritime Museum contains on its' grounds.
| There were about 6 old boats moored at the museum. The construction of these old boats with primitive tools was impressive. |  |
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Bath Iron Works can be seen in the background. Ships no longer slide down the ways. They are placed in the large blue floating dry dock, also seen in the background, and gently lowered into the water. |
FRIDAY EVENING LOBSTER FEAST
The lobster feast included a tour of House Island. This tour included bus transportation (round trip) to the waterfront, round trip transportation from Long Wharf on the boat, Chippewa to House Island, use of island facilities, Fort tour [civil war era], and a lobster or steak feast. Inside dining rooms, large open deck, picnic tables, shore side, or your favorite rock were all-available for chowing down.
The LOBSTER FEAST included New England Clam Chowder & soup crackers, 1 1/4# lobster or steak or grilled chicken Breast, corn on the cob, salad, rolls, drawn butter, potato chips, House Island blueberry cake, iced tea, hot coffee.
uses were boarded for Long Wharf to catch the boat to House Island. A slight tour of Casco Bay on the way to House Island.
Toured the old Civil War era fort where lanterns and flashlights were needed to enter. The gun mount area, with the gun slits were the only lighting. When the guns were fired in that enclosed space, it would cause the gunners ears and noses to bleed because of the concussion. The smoke from the powder would almost blind the gunners. Not a good place to be. Much different from firing our mounts.
Picnic tables were set up, under a canopy, when the serious business started. Lobsters were served with corn on the cob, clam chowdah, rolls, baked potato, coffee, soda and tea were also served. Some opted for steak or chicken which was also good. Topped off by a blueberry cake.
The Island was scheduled to be sold for development, so the operators of the lobster bake bought the island to preserve the history. Hilda Cushing Dudley, her son and daughter run the operation, from piloting the boat, giving the tour and cooking the meals. A most interesting and "down home" evening.
| Portland harbor is a very busy maritime area. This can be seen looking back at the waterfront area we departed from. |
| Many sail and powerboats were seen on the trip across Casco Bay. In addition we were treated to a sighting of several harbor seals. |  |
| Approaching House Island |
| Lobsters were started as soon as our boat docked. | 
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Mother, son, and daughter all worked at getting our meal set up and prepared. All three are Captains and have sailed around the world. |
| Hanging out, waiting for the lobster to cook. |  |
| Getting to know each other |
Saturday Activities
The business meeting consisted of several parts and the results are summarized individually as I remember them. Let me know what I have forgotten or recorded incorrectly.
I did not copy any of the numbers presented but the bottom line is the Association made some money from this reunion and the Treasury has enough money to provide reasonable front money for the next reunion that is proposed.
Several alternatives for future reunions were discussed. The discussions revolved around the frequency of reunions and the difficulty of obtaining coordinators. The alternatives put forward were:
1- Conduct a reunion only when a proposal has been submitted and approved by the Magnificent Seven.
2- Conduct a reunion every 2 years.
3- If a reunion proposal has not been submitted after two years the Magnificent Seven should take action to get a reunion effort underway.
4- Hire a professional organizer to handle all aspects of a reunion.
A vote was not taken on any of the alternatives that were offered. If my memory serves me correctly, it appears that alternative 1 is the only one that is consistent with our present By Laws.
In addition Branson, MO and Mobile AL were suggested as potential locations for future reunions to maintain the West, Central, and East staggered locations initially agreed to by the ships company and has not been changed by a ships company vote.
No By Law changes were proposed prior to the reunion or from the floor at the reunion. The inially developed By Laws remain unchanged.
The staggered term limits generally being followed resulted in the election of some new Cruise Representatives.
This is a major blank area for me. The only name I remember is Ralph Schweinefuss was elected for Cruise 2.
Tex Worden, Travis Badgett, Bill Pilesi, and John McClenahan have completed their first year and have another year to serve.
Mick Riedemann commented that he lost, but I do not know if he was kidding. Marv Aho filled in for Bill Haack and I do not know if he was replaced or if he will complete Haacks second year. I need some help on this. - Ed
Saturday, 9/13 AM; Business meeting: The usual reports were given; the main discussion was about the next reunion. Where, when and who would run it. Many plans were proposed for each year if a coordinator could be found. Every other year with a volunteer or someone appointed by the committee {drafted?], or as often as someone would step forward to run the affair.
Captain Riedemann suggested the article in Shift Colors be looked into. It is about different companies that specialize in all aspects of reunions. As of this date I have checked out one such company in Branson, MO who has sent info and prices for that area. I haven't done any more, as I am still trying to catch my breath after Portland.
The banquet started out with comments from yours truly, with a little different start. I had placed packages of tissues on most of the tables, as I didn't want the tears to dampen the area when the Japanese CD was played, as background music. Zumi-Kai Instrumental Group played Koto Music of Japan.
I spent many hours and drove many miles to find a prize for the table that was most effected. I finally found a six-pack of Kiren Ichiban beer 1/4 mile from home. But due to liquor law conflicts it could not be used. Sorry guys but it was pretty good beer!
Ed Lange's presentation of the Silent Toast to Departed Shipmates was done with the usual dignity to honor those no longer with us.
LCDR R. D. Purser, Chaplain from NAS Brunswick gave the invocation and prayers for those departed and those still serving under trying times.
Lane Morrison presented a DVD on the Vietnam era. It was very emotional, and held the complete attention of all. A very special tribute to all who served on the Tom Green during that period. It still chokes one up, even after all this time.
After the meal, we had a special treat form the SupShips Bath, Maine. Capt. John D. Ingrams, Jr. gave a talk on the mission of the SupShips, and what caught most of our attention was what is coming in the future. A stealth, low profile ship with no obvious openings or obstructions, 500-600 feet long and manned by a crew of 25. Built to be almost radar proof and undetectable. Sounds like something out of Star Wars. But the Navy is changing from our day, and it will come. (I had a neighbor who served on the old coal burning tin cans, who thought that we had it made with our modern Navy. So I guess all is relevant),
Captain Troutman had comments about today's missions and the effect on today's services. Very insightful about today's mission and the dangers in accomplishing the goals set by the powers that be.
Capt. Riedemann held the raffle drawings, which were enjoyed by all. Shell casing, Ship's Wheel, Ship's clock mounted in a prop, very dramatic photos of an LST.
It seemed as though everyone enjoyed the time spent in Portland. Except for a couple of glitches, it seemed to go well.
My personal thanks to "ALL" who helped in making this a success. Too many names to mention, as I know I'll miss some.
See you all next time, whereever and whenever it may be.
Will
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Joe Jarreau's shipmates presented him with a framed photo of our ship in recognition of all his work related to the last three reunions.
People have visited this page
Anyone that wants to add a comment about this reunion page can do so by sending the comment to me via Email.
Had a ball at the reunion. Looking forward to the next.
Just returned from TGC reunion in Portland, ME. Sure enjoyed the comraderie.
Click here to review the Reunion Business Plan
Click here to review the Reunion Task Listing
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